Pa. Priest Sentenced for Taking $380K from Parish

Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

A Roman Catholic priest in central Pennsylvania will serve 11½ to 23 months behind bars for stealing more than $380,000 from his parish.

Authorities say 52-year-old former pastor Caesar Belchez transferred more than $190,000 from various accounts at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Bonneauville to an online stock account and more than $120,000 to a personal account.

Joseph Aponick, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, said Belchez has been removed from all ministry. He said Belchez's past actions and crimes makes a return to ministry unlikely, according to WHTM-TV.

"In the case of his sentence, we have not asked for leniency but simply that his cooperation and contrition be taken into account," Aponick said in a statement. "Justice must be served and in a spirit of forgiveness we stand ready to support him spiritually."